The Cincinnati Bengals have continued their troubling pattern. They play well against the teams perceived to be good, and they play down to the level of the teams they’re supposed to beat.
As they enter the bye after a 45-10 dismantling of the Bears, the Bengals will be thinking a lot about their next two games — a visit from the Ravens and a trip to the ‘Burgh. But the Queen City’s finest should be more concerned about the next three games on the slate.
Raiders, Browns, and Lions.
If, as we’ve been saying all year, the Bengals are going to be a good team, they need to beat the bad teams. Not by a late field goal in overtime, but convincingly.
As convincingly as they beat the Bears, which might after all be a bad team.
Supposed franchise quarterback Jay Cutler threw three more interceptions and fumbled two snaps (both were recovered). Running back Matt Forte is looking like Cedric Benson and Rashaam Salaam and Curtis Enis and every other overhyped Chicago tailback since the days of Neal Anderson.
But while the offense — led by Ron Turner — deserves plenty of scrutiny, the Monsters of the Midway played more like the Sallys of the Sideshow in Cincinnati, getting shredded for 448 yards via a near-perfect blend of run and pass. Benson racked up 189 yards in his Favre-style don’t-call-it-a-revenge-game revenge game, and quarterback Carson Palmer completed 20 of 24 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns.
“They played good today; we didn’t play good,” cornerback Charles Tillman said. “That’s the bottom line. . . . They outplayed us today.”
So with the Bears at 3-3 and fading, look for the folks in Chitown to start clamoring for the coach who got the most out of Cutler — Mike Shanahan.
At a minimum, Turner needs to go. He failed to develop Orton and Benson, and now Norv’s younger brother is choking with Cutler.
Shanahan would be a great fit as HC and let Lovie stay as DC. Turner has got to go
The more I see Cutler and his gunslinger mentality play…the more I see a Jeff George as opposed to a Brett Favre.
Off with his head! Turner must go!
According to LJ, Turner could be choking “on” Cutler.
Wooo! I can’t wait for the fireworks in here.
I mean, Carson Palmer threw a 3rd quarter touchdown when the team was up 31-3! What a classless move running up the score!
I’m sure everyone will be bashing him for that, and saying that other teams should be diving at his knees late and throwing helmet-to-helmet hits, right?
UNWRITTEN RULES! CLASSLESS! HURT HIM!
I’m done with the whole Lovie/Angelo regime. Hats off to the Bengals. I thought they’d be good after watching them on “Hard Knocks”, especially with a healthy Palmer.
I still like the Cutler deal, but don’t understand their loyalty to guys such as Grossman, Wolfe, Petersen, etc. Every good team has at least 2 starting quality rbs, and the Bears barely have 1. Orlando Pace has proved to be well past his prime, but another example of Lovie’s loyalty, Adam Archuleta anyone?
Bears 73, Redskins 0, 1940.
Who’s classless?
With zero pass rush and no ability to stop the run, the cover 2 is a crap scheme.
TFBuckFutter- Nice compliment. When it’s in the 3rd quarter, teams are still worried about a comeback. And it very well could have happened. So we scored once more. You see in the 4th quarter we hardly passed at all. Hell we even brought in O’Sullivan to close this whoopin out. For god’s sake, give us a break.
HowieHandles, you are banned from commenting. I don’t need American Idol references ruining my football season. The Bears are doing that just fine without your help.
Yea, Cutler threw a ton of picks, but he is the most talented guy on the field. Outside of Olsen and Knox, the entire offense is playing like crap. The defense has no excuse for “sucking” to quote Briggs.
@TFBuckFutter Wooo! I can’t wait for the fireworks in here.
I mean, Carson Palmer threw a 3rd quarter touchdown when the team was up 31-3! What a classless move running up the score!
I’m sure everyone will be bashing him for that, and saying that other teams should be diving at his knees late and throwing helmet-to-helmet hits, right?
UNWRITTEN RULES! CLASSLESS! HURT HIM!
You are useless. that wasnt running up the score. that was kicking your lame @ss bears in the ground.
It’s worth noting that (at least as far as I can tell) Turner’s contract is up at the end of the season, and there’s been no movement to retain him.
He signed a 3 year extension in March 2007.
Unless things turn around–and quickly–Turner will be gone.
Lovie, on the other hand, still has two years and $9 million on his contract. No way he’s going anywhere–not with the Mom-and-Pop operation the McCaskeys operate in Chicago.
Hey Florio, almost all fumbles are recovered. Which team recovered them?
hey cedric maybe if you put half the effort you put into this game while playing for the bears you might still be with them!yea the bears really did you wrong by picking you 4th overall and giving you all that money,I mean look what you did for them while you were there.let’s see you were always hurt or crying about how nobody liked you or fumbling and getting in trouble off the field.they only traded thier best runner in jones so you could be the undisputed starter and you did nothing!so yea I can see how bad they mistreated you.as for your team nice job now let’s see how you do the rest of the season against the ravens and steelers. something tells me you won’t do so well without ron turner calling thier plays.I said before the season started he would be the reason the bears would not do well and he has done nothing to prove me wrong.no excuse about lack of talent he is the problem plain and simple.only coach in the the league who will refuse to run a play more than once if it works.he and lovie with thier we got off the buss running philosphy are the problem. theu need somebody like shanahan who knows offense is part of the game and will get somebody to run the defense who is not stubborn enough to stick with his system even when it does not work.
I didn’t get to see this game and since it was a blowout there is no chance NFLN will re-air it this week. Could someone explain what the hell happened to Chicago’s offense? (I think it’s pretty clear that Chi D is self-destructing…)
I saw early stats for Cutler – 7/9, no picks. Was there no running game? I assume Cutler started throwing picks after Bengals have a few points on them, a la Favre of old, taking on all the responsibility for a comeback and making awful throws.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me more info than simply, “Cutler sucks, and Orton rocks.” Oh yeah, I fully concede that Palmer and the Bengals are way better this year than previously.
Is someone really saying that throwing a touchdown in the 3rd quarter is running up the score? Maybe Cincy’s D should have just batted down the balls instead of intercepting them. Maybe the Bengals should have punted on third down. It wasn’t 59-0. It was 31-3.
and I don’t think bears fans can talk smack on Ced Benson this week. 189 Who Dey!
CYGNUS, recall weeks 4&56 against the steelers and ravens. Ced did pretty good those games without ron turner. and with what most thought was a make-shift o-line. 1st 100+ rusher against Baltimore in how many years! That’s 120 yards for 4.4 avg. And, while not 100 against the steelers, but 76 with a 4.8 avg AND A WIN!!!. I’d call that pretty good against a couple of fantastic run D’s! go ahead, jump on board and show the bengals some luv! child please!
zbrauneyz – Palmer was on fire! Every throw was on the money! I was worried about this game and cutler, but I think maybe he went out Saturday night in the Queen city and celebrated his new contract. Bengals D looked pretty good and although not many sacks, really got pressure on cutler.
The Bengals’ D are for real, that is what happened to the Bears. The O line also blew the Bears D off the ball. Palmer looked like a Pro-bowler. Cutler was pressured a few times, but more than anythhing, tried to force plays on a vastly improving D. Benson was running like a man posessed, no that fat fumbling version of him while in Chicago.
Hey Bear fans thanks for taking cry baby off our hands, we all just let on that it was a big deal to loose Cu#tler Mr. Franchise QB, he likes to throw interceptions the defense is his favorite reciever. signed Denver fan
11 million dollar—–Rex Grossman….ouch
Denver is undefeated with Orton and McDaniels will be an excellent Head Coach in this league!
Orton is perfect for the Patriot System and doesn’t turn it over. Combine that with good defense. 6-0 into the bye….
Enjoy your new Franchise….Da Bears…
FYI Cutler was never better than a .500 QB with Shanahan and a talented offense.
Oh yeah thanks for all the pics Chicago!
Love,
Broncos fans everywhere
BengalsDouche2 says:
October 26, 2009 11:51 AM
TFBuckFutter- Nice compliment. When it’s in the 3rd quarter, teams are still worried about a comeback. And it very well could have happened. So we scored once more. You see in the 4th quarter we hardly passed at all. Hell we even brought in O’Sullivan to close this whoopin out. For god’s sake, give us a break.
PittSqueelers says:
October 26, 2009 11:55 AM
You are useless. that wasnt running up the score. that was kicking your lame @ss bears in the ground.
hineswardcriesafterfumbling says:
October 26, 2009 12:28 PM
Is someone really saying that throwing a touchdown in the 3rd quarter is running up the score?
——————————-
I was being facetious.
You guys CLEARLY missed all the bitching about the Pats letting Brady throw a TD in the 3rd quarter against the Titans last week. Calling for other teams to try and injure him because he was classless for throwing the ball in the 3rd quarter of a blowout.
Those same rules apparently don’t apply to Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning though.
I love when a fan’s team gets the score ran up on them and they start calling it classless. How about this school if thinking: be mad at your teams players, coaches, and management for letting it happen. I’m a Bengals fan (and not one if the bandwagon ones) so zi got used to doing that years ago.
Cyngus, why would Benson want to play for the Bears? Why would anyone? They haven’t had a decent quarterback in 23 years and have more first round busts than any team I can think of. Yes, I’m taking the series of first round flops of my own team into consideration when I say that.
When I think about the talent that had come through Chicago at the halfback position then became a bust I believe it’s the team not the player. After all Ced Ben seems to be doing pretty well in the Queen City. Maybe if Rashaan Salaam got a second chance with the Patriots we wouldn’t call him a bust. After all he did win the Heisman.
CYGNUS X-1
Uuummm, I remember pretty well that the Bengals already beat both of the teams you mention, sooooo, what then? Your sourpuss angle on Ced? Perhaps he was less than good for your locker room, and perhaps he was not the better RB when he was there, but where’s Thomas Jones now? The Bears front office ineptness with regards to Rb’s rivals that of the bengals, and that’s sad. Ced was never convicted of any of the alleged crimes either, your loss, Bengals mighty gain, thanks Thomas Jones, Thanks Bears front office, thenks young hot shit Ced, thanks for EVERYTHING!!! And to TFBuckFutter, I couldn’t believe the responses you were getting, I know it’s hard to read into text, but I thought it was pretty blatantly sarcastic, and funny, AND, I don’t get the Running up the score argument, Fisher handled that quite well, stop what the O is doing if you don’t want to score run up, no team should have to stop doing what works so what? The other team can save face? That’s pop warner garbage.
Cutler has a great arm, and can sometimes look quite flashy. To be honest, I used to love watching Cutler on his good days. However, his bad days are really bad. I always found some excuse…Like blaming the defense or whatever. But the truth is I could never admit his failure, because I wanted him to succeed. To all the Bears fans: Cutler is another Jeff George. He has all the physical qualities of an elite quarterback, but will never get the Bears or any other team to the Super Bowl. This is a reality you’ll soon accept. For now, you’ll make your excuses. As time passes, and you still haven’t reached the “the big game”, you’ll start to see how one can be physically talented, but still play like a moron on Sunday. Good luck with Jay. Three picks, two fumbled snaps. Just another day for Mr. Cutler. And can you say “Overpaid”? Maybe the Bears should have used some of that money to build a better defense, or get a coach who knows how to win. The trade for Cutler, and the contract which followed, will be known as the biggest miscalculation in Chicago’s history. I feel bad for Bears fans, as I know they love their team and just want to see them win. You were tricked into believing Lovie Smith was a good head coach. Now you’re being tricked into believing Cutler is a franchise quarterback. This is a bad year for Chicago. You’ll pay for this disaster for many years to come. Remember this…Jay Cutler is a cancer that will eat away at your organization, and he’ll never give you a Super Bowl ring. He has your money, and there’s nothing you can do. Look to the future, Bears fans. Maybe like 2020!
“CurseofBoJackson says:
October 26, 2009 1:30 PM
And to TFBuckFutter, I couldn’t believe the responses you were getting, I know it’s hard to read into text, but I thought it was pretty blatantly sarcastic, and funny, AND, I don’t get the Running up the score argument, Fisher handled that quite well, stop what the O is doing if you don’t want to score run up, no team should have to stop doing what works so what? The other team can save face? That’s pop warner garbage.”
Glad someone picked up on it. I can understand some people not making the connection if they didn’t take not of those discussions, and mainly stick to articles about their team/game (and would assume that most people commenting on their game thread would have had a horse in the race).
OK Ced blames himself for his release from the Bears. He has said it multiple times. Often times in life it takes us screwing a good thing up to realize what we had. Ced is just that. He doesnt hate the bears and I believe him. But the Bengals are for real and we smashed you guys bad! Sorry for all my CHicago friends and family that made the boring drive thru Indiana just to turn right around and go home for work the next morning. Next time you should consider the fact that Cincinnati is no joke. But keep thinking it because that gives us motivation! Thank you doubters have a nice drive home!
HardcoreH1,
I think it is 17 or 23 players that the Bengals have drafted in the past FIVE years are NO LONGER in the NFL, period. And the bears have more first round busts?
And its hardly classless of the standards the Bears hold to their players…the reason why Tank (weapons charges) and Benson (DUI’s, alcohol issues) are no longer with the Bears, yet are seen on the sidelines of Cincinnati in the Orange and Black, along with the rest of the leagues Felon’s. Why hasn’t Mike Brown signed pacman or that cokehead Matt Jones yet? I mean ocho’s good, but you need somebody to compliment him, and clearly stonehands coles’, or “I-Buy-Alcohol-For-14-Year-Old-Female-Strangers” Henry?
HEY WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!
“gobears84″
It was only a matter of time before sour grapes about a bengals victory turned into, the Bengals are all thugs, criminals… etc. And Mike Brown is an enabler.
I am a Bengals fan, and I am not proud of our players past, however they played a great game. It had nothing to do with Johnson’s, Benson’s or Henry’s past. It had to do with the Bengals excuting on offense, defense, and special teams.
GoBears84, Don’t get mad cause your team wouldn’t take the bad press by sticking with a troubled player. And the reason we haven’t signed pacman or matt jones yet? We’re saving a roster spot for your momma.
@gobears84…
Is that all you can come up with? very lame. cant help that you got your ass kicked. have a great season!!
GoBears84-
Ced was never convicted of any charges. Dont blame us for picking up players that want to make their lives right. It seems to be working, no?
Ocho does fine by himself but, just for shits and giggles we have Andre ‘last second touchdown against actual good teams’ Caldwell, Chris ‘hasnt had a charge in over 3 years’ Henry and Coles who correct me if I am mistaken had two great catches and a touchdown against the bears. So keep pressin those sour grapes and let me know if you guys ever make it back to 500.
Good luck this year
Chump
FACT: IT WAS 28-0 BEFORE CUTLER THREW AN INTERCEPTION. I can admit he made bad passes after that time, but the Bears had no life on defense so it didn’t matter.
Carson Palmer:
7 drives, 6 touchdowns, 1 field goal.
Doesn’t matter what Jay Cutler does, this was a lost game. Jay Cutler obviously doesn’t give a rats’ ass about his stats so he went out there and tried to thread a needle through a hole that perhaps never existed.
Also, Orton fumbled snaps with Kreutz, Grossman fumbled snaps with Kreutz, Cutler fumbled snaps with Kreutz…
…funny how noboy to this point hasn’t thought that KREUTZ IS THE PROBLEM!
“gobears84″
Thanks for letting us all know that you play Madden with the 17 players reference. Did you know that their first playoff win came in January 82 against the Bills? Or how about that they were founded by Paul Brown in 1967? Or the shocking fact that Brown also founded the Browns?
I don’t think you Bears fan realize that we get these comments every week:
The Bengals gave sucked a lot over the past 18 or so seasons. Well we didn’t forget.
Our owner us an idiot who constantly makes bad decisions like hiring ex-cons. Please understand that we agree with you and even the most casual Bengals fans loath Mike Brown.
Steelers fans still find their team superior to ours. We know they’ve been superior for a long time but this is a new season. This year we’re not the same old Bengals. Hines Ward found that out the hard way week 3 when he ate crow with tears in his eyes while watching his defense get picked apart by Carson. Here’s another revelation Steelers fans: we beat you AND walked all over the other team that beat you. This is 2009. What have you done against us lately?
Lastly, my daughter turns 1 Wednesday. The Bengals are 9-5-1 since she was born. Now that is an important stat.
hardcoreh1: happy b-day to the lil one…keep her a bengals fan!!!
and for the poster of us running up the score…stop us…that simple.
remember the chargers game of 04…i’ll never forget it, apparently niether will carson or marvin…thank god.
and as for benson, maybe it wasn’t him but your coaches
So much for all the predictions that the NFC North will spawn 3 playoff teams this year. The Vikings are a lock. As much as I hate to admit it, the packers probably have enough offensive firepower to get a wildcard. The bears will be lucky to go 8-8.
@notudey
We have our own TD dance we invented lol! The cutest thing was when I was watching highlights from the Steelers game and when Dave Lapham said “Touchdown Bengals” she spun around and toddled over to me with her arms up and ready to do the dance. She has her own pink and white Palmer jersey she wears during the games. To say the least, she has Bengals in her DNA. Who needs a boy? Lol!
Good point on the Chargers debacle. I believe we were up 28-7 and choked. After all the times we got stomped without mercy it’s our turn to walk over some other teams. Like I said, don’t call it classless when your team sucks.
HardcoreH1….
first….happy birthday to your daughter. I hope she had a great one.
second….I’m not as upset about losing to the Bengals (I mean….it was ABOUT TIME!!!) as I was at HOW we lost. We pushed you around for 3 quarters but our offense couldn’t punch the ball in at the goal line to put the game away. And of course I’ll never forget Limas Sweed dropping a perfectly thrown ball in the endzone. But you won and made the plays in the end when it counted. Congrats on that. BUT, The Steelers are coming around slowly but surely. Yesterday the defense showed that they’re still alive…and Troy STILL ISN’T playing at 100%…I don’t give a sh*t what anyone says.
I’m not going to talk too much about a game that’s still 3 weeks away. Especailly while we still have an, as of now, undefeated Denver to play before you come to Heinz Field. You guys needed that monkey off your back, it was only a matter of time before you finally got a win at home again. Even I didn’t think we would win in Cincinnati for the rest of eternity. Believe it or not, and this is the truth, I’m sort of glad it happened. I’d rather have it happen the 1st game than the 2nd. It will be a different ball game in Pittsburgh. It should be a good game as long as Cincinnati decides to show up for the first 3 quarters and Pittsburgh doesn’t disappear for the 4th.
TFBuckFutter – you call us out for being classes when we finally start clicking on “o”. In the NFL you never take your foot off the opponents throat.
THAN you you say “hurt palmer”, you are a joke. Do the NFL a favor and shop being a fan.
Love you
I was as surprised by the game’s outcome, efficiency of our offense, but more importantly the way our defense dominated.
The Bear’s offensive coordinator, Turner, is not the problem, it is your old O-line. Pace is definitely pass his prime and sadly it looks like Kruetz is past his as well. I lived in Chicago for several years and loved watching Kruetz destroy people. Now he is getting pushed back or whiffing on a regular basis. I was wondering way Forte’s numbers are off, but after watching this game it made sense.
Looks like the Bears are back in the rebuilding stage again- maybe they can dust off Kordell again to use him as a sacrificial lamb while they rebuild the O-line like they did several years ago.